It is even nicer than I thought! Every decal is there in nearly pristine condition. Thought I would change out the chain since it looked a little rusty in the picture. Well, chain is just fine, a little gummy from lack of use but a good cleaning should get it done. Tires are even in good shape with no craking except in some grooves which run concentric to the rims and they look a little deeper than I thought they should, but even that is hard to see.

My question is:

If I decide to change tires on the bike, can I change wheels also and go to a 700 size wheel? I was going to buy tires today but the ones I saw at Performance are so plain looking. The ones on the bike now are black sith a golden sidewall and nice large embossed numbers on them. Plain black are just not as cute

The headset (?) seems a little tight when the wheel turns. It doesn't get tight until the wheel is about 90 degrees to the frame so maybe it's mean to be that way.

What would you all recommend if I were to "go through" the bike? What special tools would I need? This would be my first project.

Are you familiar with Sheldon Brown's websites, and with the ParkTool website? A lot of what you might need to know to work on a bike can be found in these places.

The usual things to check are the wheels (are they true? how are the braking surfaces? Do they spin freely?), tubes and tires, the brakes (cables, housings, adjustment, pad condition), the shifters and derailleurs, the chain, crankset and headset. It sounds like it wouldn't hurt you to service your headset.